Reader Mail

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                               Reader Mail
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From: Cool@dcandy.demon.co.uk
Subject: Amiga Report - Letters page

Hi there!

I just thought I'd write and tell you how much I enjoy reading Amiga
Report.  Due to me living in England and the English Amiga mags only cover
a small section of American Amiga news it is good to read Amiga Report as
it tells me whats happening to the Amiga in America.  Thanks again for the
mag.  BTW I'm possibly the youngest Amiga Report reader at the age of 14.

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From: Bill Toner (wwt5491@rit.edu) 

I've been a reader of AR for a few years now, and love your magazine.  I
also thing this is the best place to voice my concerns about the situation
between Villate Tronic and Phase5.  I recently purchased an Amiga 4000T
system, Cyberstorm MKII 040 and PicassoIV setup from Software Hut, and have
been very dissapointed that I can't use Cybergraphics.  Had I known this, I
would probably have got a different graphics board.  From what I gather,
Phase5 won't do it until VT gives them a free card, and VT won't do that
because they had to buy P5 boards for other comatibility testing.  The
Cybergraphics web site has a letter from Phase5 that they want to support
my board but...  There's a set of emails from VT there saying we don't need
Cybergfx anyway so we should get over it. 

Now, this soap opera is getting old very quickly, and I'm beginning to
regret my PicassoIV.  I can't run some Cybergfx supporting programs, like
the osiris mpeg player, Shapeshifter didn't work well until it specifically
noticed Picasso96, and a bunch of other Cybergfx programs are going to do
the same thing.  Looking at the Cybergfx site, it is clear they are doing
everything they can to make supporting programs NOT work on picasso96, but
ONLY on Cybergfx drivers.  This is understandable 2 comanies trying to
steal customers from the other, but I feel like I'm stuck in the middle and
I don't like it.  Cybergfx developers want us to use their drivers but
won't make one for my board, and VT says only software made by Phase5
doesn't work.  VT is wrong, I've seen it with my own eyes.  I think that
lacking Cybergfx support is going to hurt their sales, not Phase5's.  I
really wish the children running the two groups would grow up and get
along. 

I emailed both companies many times and never got a response to my concern.
I hope this letter will get their attention, and let other loyal Amigans
know about the problem.  Also, I would like to know if there are current or
potential PicassoIV owners that would like Cybergraphics, would any of you
be interested in donating towards buying a board for the cybergraphics
people to use?  I realise it's a lot of money, but if enough people would
do this we would only spend maybe $20 each or so, and get to use real Amiga
software again.

Bill Toner II
wwt5491@rit.edu
Vice-President of ACURIT, the Amiga Computer Users of RIT
An unhappy PicassoIV owner

-   I understand your frustration, and agree that it's very unfortunate
    that Amiga users have been caught in the middle.  I sense another level 
    of frustration, too--you feel very cut off from the situation, and
    that's the disenfranchising effect of being in the US while the two
    bickering companies are based in Germany.  Your options for directly
    harassing the companies about the issue are far more limited.  You
    can't make yourself heard as easily.  Trust me, I've battled the
    damaging effects of being so cut off from the main workings of the
    Amiga market for years now, and it's only starting to get better.

    As to the real issue at hand, I can only hope that the situation
    is resolved one way or another very soon.  Both companies have their
    legitimate complaints, but at its heart it is making us less
    productive, and some sort of accomodation should be reached. -Jason

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From: Alan Crandall (alanwall@sonic.net) 

TopoLino.  I guess you don't remember my name,I was the one responsible for
getting the TopoLino to the Gateway show and gave you the info and made
sure you and all the other reporters got to see and try it.  I came all the
way from N.  Cal.  and expect at least a mention.  But don't feel bad, if
you do, Don Hicks did the same thing.  Next time try to get ALL the info
into the story.

-    Nobody's perfect.  Not even Don Hicks.  -Jason

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